Bill Text: NY S04515 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Adds veterans to protected classes for unlawful housing discrimination regardless of discharge status.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S04515 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04515-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4515

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the executive law, in relation to adding veterans to
          protected classes for unlawful housing discrimination

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 296 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 2-b to read as follows:
     3    2-b.  (a)  It  shall  be  an  unlawful discriminatory practice for the
     4  owner, lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent  of  publicly-as-
     5  sisted housing accommodations or other person having the right of owner-
     6  ship  or possession of or the right to rent or lease such accommodations
     7  to refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to  deny  to  or  withhold
     8  from  any person or group of persons such housing accommodations because
     9  of such person's status as a veteran.
    10    (b) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "veteran"  means  a
    11  person,  resident  of  this state, who served in the United States army,
    12  navy, air force, space force, marine corps, coast guard, and/or reserves
    13  thereof, and/or in the army national guard, air national guard, New York
    14  guard and/or New York naval militia, and/or who served as  a  member  of
    15  the  commissioned corps of the national oceanic and atmospheric adminis-
    16  tration or  the  United  States  public  health  service  regardless  of
    17  discharge status.
    18    §  2.  Subdivision 5 of section 296 of the executive law is amended by
    19  adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows:
    20    (h) (1) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person
    21  offering or providing housing accommodations, land or  commercial  space
    22  as  described  in  paragraphs  (a),  (b), and (c) of this subdivision to
    23  refuse to sell, rent or lease any housing accommodation, land or commer-
    24  cial space to any person because of such person's status as a veteran.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02057-01-3
        S. 4515                             2

     1    (2) For the purposes of this paragraph, the  term  "veteran"  means  a
     2  person,  resident  of  this state, who served in the United States army,
     3  navy, air force, space force, marine corps, coast guard, and/or reserves
     4  thereof, and/or in the army national guard, air national guard, New York
     5  guard  and/or  New  York naval militia, and/or who served as a member of
     6  the commissioned corps of the national oceanic and atmospheric  adminis-
     7  tration  or  the  United  States  public  health  service  regardless of
     8  discharge status.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.